


Brain Invaders, Body Stealers

by A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan, Blu3g1rl



Series: Project Freelance [9]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Ahsoka Tano, Canon-Typical Violence, I lied, Implied/Referenced Torture, Medical Procedures, Mind Control, Possible Character Death, Secrets, Suicidal Thoughts, Wonderful coping methods, they'er terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 16:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19705258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan/pseuds/A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blu3g1rl/pseuds/Blu3g1rl
Summary: Victory on Geonosis!After a massive assault, the Republic has finally recaptured the Separatist planet and shut down its droid factories of doom. An investigation by Luminara Unduli led to the discovery of Queen Karina the Great, whose hive-mind could reanimate dead Geonosian soldiers. During the destruction of the Queen's temple, the Jedi apprehended her adviser Poggle the Lesser, and now prepare to deliver the villain to Coruscant for trial.





	Brain Invaders, Body Stealers

**I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.**

_Eleanor Roosevelt_

Poggle clicked angrily as two of Luminara’s men herded him into the ship. As he walked up the ramp Ki-Adi Mundi walked down with a frown, ignoring the garbled threat that the Separatist General spat at him. He looked at the Jedi and two Freelancers. “I'm afraid we have a complication,” he began.

Skywalker interrupted him with his signature smirk, “Don't we always?” 

Mundi pursed his lips at his fellow Jedi’s cockiness. This wasn’t the time to be playing games, not when the report he got was grave. “I've just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine,” he softly informed and watched as Knight Charr’s back straightened at the planet’s name. So Mace informed her of his whereabouts; not that it was surprising. Mace didn’t play favorites with any of his students. It was clear to all the Councillors that the stoic man loved all his students dearly, but if he had to choose Ki-Adi knew who the Korun would choose. “Master Windu's defenses held, but at a great cost to his men and himself.” Though she hid it well, Ki-Adi could still feel her worry. “They need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus.”

“We're delivering Poggle to Coruscant, and Cestus is not exactly on the way,” Skywalker shook his head with a frown. As much as he wanted to help (and potentially have blackmail on) Master Windu, they needed to get the bug to Coruscant. The Chancellor was counting on him. 

Luminara agreed with him but for different reasons. “The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we're to get useful intelligence from him,” she added as her student walked up behind her. 

“I might have a solution,” a girlish voice interjected and everyone turned to the Freelancers. It was Agent Naboo that spoke, “I’ve just been hired to aid someone named Lit Fisto on Ord Cestus.”

“Kit Fisto,” Agent Coruscant corrected boredly and shifted his body in a way that made everyone imagine an eye roll. “His name is Kit Fisto, a Jedi Master and Councillor.” 

Agent Naboo waved her hand in a careless manner, “Sure, him. As I was saying, I was just contracted to aid him; perhaps I can take some of your supplies to him?” The small blue armored Freelancer adjusted her body in such a way that it held an air of innocence. Obi-Wan was almost ninety percent sure that Naboo was doing it on purpose to make everyone relax around her. And it was working, Obi-Wan noticed as he observed Anakin’s shoulders relax slightly, Luminara’s eyes softened and he could feel Ki-Adi’s wariness fade away. Only Ava remained cautious, no doubt suspicious of the woman. “And it can be off the books, so to speak,” Naboo added, “No hidden fees or agreements.” 

A plan formed in his head. “Why don’t we let the Padawans go along with Agent Naboo?” Obi-Wan offered, “This would be a good opportunity for them to learn more about Project Freelance and healing.” He gave them a small smile and placed his hand on the agent’s shoulder. “I’m sure our friend Naboo would be willing to answer any questions concerning either.”

“Whatever needs to be done, Master. I'm happy to help,” Barriss piped up and offered a small smile, “I would love to learn anything Agent Naboo is willing to teach.”

“As am I,” Ahsoka agreed with a smile, “It could be fun.”

Anakin looked ready to disagree and protest. There was no way he was going to let _his_ student anywhere near any Freelancers. All of them had an unusual interest in _his_ Padawan. Sensing this, Ava opened her mouth. “I can go along, too. If Master Mace is injured badly then I want to be there to make sure he recovers.” 

With the knowledge that his friend would be going along, Anakin relented. He could trust Ava to make sure that the Freelancer didn’t do anything fishy. “Alright,” the human said, “Take a medical frigate; after we've delivered Poggle to Coruscant, we'll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine.”

ooOoo

Trap walked up to his younger brothers with a frown. All of them were sleeping without a care; they were extremely lucky that there was a lull in the campaign. Trap made sure to stomp the last few feet to them to see if any of the sleeping troopers would wake up. Nothing. He smirked as he raised his blaster towards the cloudless sky and pulled the trigger. His little brothers’ reactions were immediate. Each tense and ready to attack. “Sorry, boys,” Trap quipped, “Hope I didn't interrupt any... pleasant dreams.” 

Ox lowered his blaster as embarrassment filled his being. He was supposed to be a top class soldier, prepared for anything. He wasn’t supposed to let his guard down to sleep. The trooper wished that a random Geonosian would find him and put him out of his misery; dying was a much more appealing option than being caught off guard by his sergeant. With red cheeks he asked, “Got another mission, sir?” 

“You bet,” Trap grinned showing teeth, “We're making a medical supply run to Ord Cestus.” He at least was happy to get off this Force-forsaken planet. 

“Ugh,” scoffed Pulsar, “Thought we were bred for battle, not running errands.” This was his first campaign. He wanted to see it through, not be on a completely different planet. 

“Hey,” Trap growled out, his good mood fading, “We were bred to follow orders, Pulsar. You got a problem with that?” Trap pulled his shoulders back and stood up straighter, making his body look bigger. He also bared his teeth, leaned into Pulsar’s personal space, and stared straight into his little brother’s eyes— a sign of dominance. 

Pulsar ducked his head and shrunk a little. “No, sir. No problem.”

“That's what I thought,” Trap hummed out approvingly at the submission, “Now move.”

Pulsar looked back at his brother. He sighed a little. Leave it to his carefree batchmate to still be sleeping. “Scythe,” he said, “Come on.” Scythe remained motionless, still sleeping. “ _Up_ , brother,” Pulsar tried to wake the other again, “Up and at 'em.” Finally Scythe stirred and looked up at him with dazed eyes. Pulsar grinned teasingly; once they got on board he wouldn’t let his batchmate live this down. “Hey, Scythe, welcome back to the land of the living.”

Scythe stared at the retreating soldier. Sinister orders whispered into his ears. “Thank you... sir.” He would not fail his queen. 

ooOoo

“We are ready to make our jump, Master Fisto,” Ava informed the Nautolan Jedi.

Kit smiled warmly at the group. “Good. I look forward to your arrival.” He glanced at the blue armored agent. “And I cannot wait to work with you, Agent Naboo. I have heard many things about your skills.”

“All good things, I hope,” Naboo joked. Once the transmission ended she turned to the three Jedi. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to report to the higher ups.” 

“Of course,” Ava replied, already making plans to somehow listen in. Perhaps Cipher could slice into the signal. 

“Great!” Naboo cheered, “Once I’m done with the boring stuff let’s meet up! There’s so much I’d love to teach y’all.” She raised a finger to emphasize the importance. “Health is extremely important, after all. You never know how important little things can be until they happen; like how to deal with hyperthermia, or how to bandage a blaster shot the right way!” She laughed, “I have many stories about the wildest situations some ‘lancers have been in.” 

“I’m sure Barriss would especially be interested,” Ava said, “She’s already a skilled healer.” The Mirialan had stabilized her injuries she’d suffered after the first battle of Geonosis. She nodded to the pilots, then left. 

ooOoo

Ahsoka shifted around on her bunk. After waiting an hour for Agent Naboo to meet up with the group and still doing whatever Freelancers did, Master Charr had told her and Barriss to get some rest. Ahsoka had only half protested at the dismissal, still weary from her adventure with Agents Coruscant and Tatooine. But as she lay down on the comfortable mattress sleep eluded her. She shifted again. “What?” Barriss asked, proving that she too was still up, “What is it?” 

“It's too quiet,” the Togruta admitted without embarrassment. If there was one thing she learned then it was to admit her troubles out loud without feeling embarrassed about it. Master Obi-Wan had told her he would do that when he was troubled. _Sometimes,_ the ginger’s voice said in her head, _saying what’s troubling you out loud can help you see things more clearly._ “It's a big change from all the fighting the last few days.” Ahsoka expected to be attacked at any moment, for some hidden enemy to strike once she let her guard down.

“You should enjoy this peace while it lasts.” Barriss offered to her, not feeling the same pressure the younger felt. It was as if, Ahsoka thought, the older Padawan couldn’t feel the same paranoia. 

“I can't,” the young teen sighed and pushed herself off the bunk. “Let's go eat.”

ooOoo 

“-and that is how the Republic has Poggle,” Naboo finished her lengthy report of the last two days on Geonosis. Personally Ava believed that it didn’t take two hours to recap the events, (or to dramatically tell it like some sort of adventure novel) of their campaign. There were some moments that the woman believed that the agent knew that she was being watched. Agent Naboo would cut off in the middle of a sentence and glance around. More than once the combat medic would stare into a camera, as if she was staring at her and Cipher. 

“...I see,” the woman on the receiving transmission, Agent Illum, said in a puzzled tone. It seemed like Ava wasn’t the only one to think that Naboo was being ridiculous. “You already know your next contract; was that all you needed?” 

The medic hummed and shook her head. “That’s all, Illum. Just wanted to check in.”

Illum nodded. “Very well, proceed with your contract.” The hologramed woman blinked out of existence. 

For a few moments, Ava thought that that was it. Cipher slicing onto the Freelancer’s frequency was all for nothing. “Sir...?” Cipher hesitantly began; he trailed off, not sure if he was allowed to ask his question. The unspoken question rang loudly in the air. _Why did you make me do this?_

_“Master Kenobi, we need to talk.”_

_“About?” the ginger inquired with an arched eyebrow._

_“Project Freelance.” Ava then told him about the conversation she’d listened in to on Ryloth._

_“So you think that Agent Naboo is Force sensitive?” Obi-Wan reiterated. He stroked his beard in thought._

_“More than that, I think she’s had training. The question is how much, and by who, and why she would hide it. Agent Coruscant too.”_

_“So you noticed that as well,” he commented, “Yes I did feel our friend’s quick suppression back at the temple.”_

_Ava didn’t bother correcting the friend comment. She nodded. “Yes. If they’re Jedi, why hide the fact? And if they’re not…”_

Then who were they? Ava took a deep breath and looked at her slicer. “What I’m about to tell you is extremely confidential. No one else may know of this, not even our squad.” Cipher straightened and nodded. “I have reason to believe that Project Freelance is training Force Sensitive beings.”

“This is Sidia Enz,” Naboo’s girlish voice cut into the Jedi’s explanation. Ava’s eyes widened and she leaned in to listen better. 

“Report,” a deep voice ordered. The voice sounded familiar to Ava, but for the life of her she couldn’t place it. She filed the memory away to puzzle over later and kept listening.

“Nothing’s changed. No one suspects us,” Naboo or now Sidia answered. 

“I see,” there was a pause, “And does Agent Coruscant know his orders?” 

“Yes sir,” Naboo responded immediately, “He’s already placed a recorder in Kenobi’s quarters. He plans to do the same to Windu’s once he works with him.” Oh did he, now? This was an interesting development. The Jedi might contract Freelancers, but they didn’t normally allow them into the Temple. Which meant that Coruscant somehow planned to charm his way in and get past his security...or he was a Jedi.

“Good. Those two are the ones we should worry about the most from the Jedi. Already the two have raised some concerns. If we wished to pull this off successfully, then nobody can be aware of us.” _Too late for that,_ Ava thought a bit smugly.

“Right. Any new orders for little ol’me?” Sidia questioned.

“No, continue as you have,” the being replied. “Once you receive the all clear from Agent Coruscant, contact me. May the Force be with you.” Ava’s brows shot up at the customary Jedi farewell.

“Of course, to you as well. Oh and happy hunting, sir.” The transmission ended.

“The only people currently authorized to know this are you, myself, and General Kenobi. Clear?” Cipher nodded. Her lips quirked up. “Good work; I know that it’s hard to trick Freelancers.” She stretched her arms over her head and stood up. “I’m going to go eat. Would you like to come?”

Cipher yawned. “I’m not really hungry right now. Think I’ll catch some shuteye.”

“You’ve definitely earned it,” Ava told him and left, mind still buzzing. Who was the Jedi Sidia/Naboo had reported to? Just how was Agent Coruscant planning to get into her master’s quarters? And most concerning of all, what was it that they needed to pull off successfully?

ooOoo

Ahsoka ate a ration cube before speaking. “I was just thinking about what you said earlier about enjoying the peace while it lasts. As a Jedi, I'm not sure I know how to do that.”

“Master Windu has said we are keepers of the peace, not warriors. However, once the war is over, it will be our job to maintain peace.” Barriss answered her fellow Padawan as Ava walked in. Both girls nodded in greeting and waited till the Knight sat down with them. 

“Yes,” the younger girl responded as she thought over the automatic answer, “But will we do so as keepers of the peace or warriors? And what's the difference?” 

“I don't have all the answers, Ahsoka,” the Mirialan said and looked down at her food. “Like you, I'm a learner.”

“Answers about what?” Ava asked with some interest. With all that was going on with Project Freelance and their mysteries (frustratingly the more she had learned, the more questions there were. And none of them had any answers), she was happy to discuss something far different. 

“Uh, well,” Ahsoka began, “It’s just that I don’t remember what the galaxy was like when there wasn’t a war. Or what we Jedi would do. How did we act? We are called Peacekeepers, so what does that really mean? And how is that different from being a warrior... besides fighting.” Her questions came out very rushed and jumbled. 

It was unlike Ahsoka to rush out questions, Ava thought with some puzzlement. Almost like she’d tried to ask them before and been shot down. No, Anakin wasn’t the greatest at answering deep questions. She took a sip of water, saddened that the youngling couldn’t remember a time when the galaxy was at peace. “Before the war, the Jedi focused on bringing stability. Helping those who couldn’t help themselves. We weren’t concerned with which planets had strategic value, but how to best help those in need. Violence was not always avoidable, but the Jedi always sought diplomatic solutions first. It’s when we draw our sabers without first attempting a resolution through peaceful means that we are warriors and not peacekeepers. This isn’t the first time the Jedi have gone to war, and once this war ends, we’ll return to keeping the peace like we have in the past.”

Ahsoka nodded along and listened with clear interest. It was obvious to the Knight that her friend had never talked about sensitive matters like this. It made the Chiss wonder what her friend was teaching. “I see.” She bit her lip and glanced down at her plate. 

“I won’t bite,” Ava assured her when it became clear that the Togruta wasn’t going to ask. “You can ask.”

“It’s just... well...” Ahsoka tried to find the right words. “WhataboutthefFreelancers?” She finally blurted out rapidly and her blue eyes darted around for her master to magically appear and yell at her. 

“I personally don’t think it’s wise to share intel with people who work for both sides,” Ava said slowly. “However, there are others, like your Grandmaster, who believe otherwise.”

“I know but that wasn’t what I was asking, Master Charr,” Ahsoka said and clarified herself, “What’s going to happen to them when the war ends?” 

“That is a good question, Ahsoka.” Barriss smiled. “When I heard that Agent Coruscant was going to tag along with my Master to Geonosis, I did some research. Apparently Project Freelance is over fifty years old.” 

“What else did you discover?” Ava asked and leaned in. 

Barriss was taken aback by the blue Jedi’s interest. “Uh,” she coughed lightly and continued, “Apparently Project Freelance came into existence roughly fifty years ago as a small bounty hunter organization. It was originally called Galaxy Guardians. It was financed by a man named Jaryn Hagui.” She blushed a little. “I’m afraid that’s all I know.”

Ava made a note to look into this ‘Jaryn Hagui’. “Well, I can’t say what will happen to them with any certainty, but I doubt they’ll suddenly stop getting job offers just because the Republic and Separatists are no longer fighting.”

“Oh.” Ahsoka looked down again, but Ava could see the relieved smile on her face. The door slid open and two clones walked in. “Evening, Ox, Edge,” she greeted warmly and gestured to an open spot next to her, “Would you like to join us?” Baleful stares were the only response. 

“Is something wrong, troopers?” Ava asked with a frown, uneasiness in the Force making her spine tingle. Something wasn’t right here. Beneath the table, she reached for her lightsaber.

Suddenly Ox raised his blaster at them and Edge followed suit. “Troopers, stand down!” Ahsoka barked out as she reacted quickly and drew her saber. 

Without hesitance the two began to shoot at the three. Both Ava and Ahsoka batted the bolts away as Barriss used the Force to push the table they were eating on at the now hostile clones. All three stared at the unconscious troopers wondering what was happening. The door to the cafeteria slid open, and two more troopers ran in guns at the ready. As one the Jedi pointed their sabers at them. 

“What are you doing?” Trap asked, bewildered as he took a step back from the lightsaber. 

“Two clones just attacked us,” Ahsoka snarled out and raised her blade higher. “What is going on?” 

“Captain,” Ava addressed, “Do you know what happened to those troopers?”

Trap shook his head. “Couldn't tell you, Commander,” he began, “I'm just as confused as--” 

“You're in charge of those men,” Barriss cut him off angrily. “Did you order them to kill us?” 

“No, sir. I did not.”

Her mind raced a mile a minute as the young Togruta stared at the two. “What's happening?” she asked nobody in particular, “Why would they do this?”

“We don't know, sir,” the other clone, Havoc, answered, “We heard shots.”

An ugly sneer graced Barriss’ face, “Why should we believe you?” 

Realizing that speaking would get them nowhere, Trap slowly lowered his blaster. “Look, no guns.” Havoc quickly copied him, and the girls deactivated their sabers. 

Ava turned around to study the knocked out troopers with a thoughtful frown. “These men wouldn't just attack us without reason.”

“My Master had a clone betray them once,” Ahsoka piped up, “A traitor who was paid off by Ventress.” Unnoticed to the Jedi, Trap and Havoc bristled at the mention. 

Ava shook her head. “It can't be that simple. There’s more to this; I can feel it.” She activated her wrist comm. “Bridge, this is Commander Charr. Respond.” Silence. 

That wasn’t a good sign. Ahsoka looked at her fellow Jedi and bit her lip. “We need to get up there and find out what’s going on,” she declared. 

“But these two will be coming around any minute.” Barriss shook her head and gestured to the two. 

“Havoc can watch them until we check on the bridge,” Trap offered.

“Okay, let's go,” the youngest Padawan nodded and ran out the door before anyone could say anything else. Ava shook her head, _just like her master_. 

ooOoo

Anakin walked up to the other Masters on the bridge with Rex following. “The cargo ship failed to check in on schedule,” Luminara greeted him with. “I attempted to contact them. There was no reply,” she frowned as concern radiated in the Force for a brief second. 

Beside her, Agent Coruscant, (and Anakin internally frowned at the agent’s presence) shifted a little. “Naboo hasn’t answered any of my hails as well,” he offered. 

“I don't like it,” Anakin declared, “Something's up.” A multitude of possibilities popped up in his mind. 

“It is certainly most unlike either padawan to lose contact,” Luminara agreed. 

His hand reached for his lightsaber. “They're in trouble,” he all but snarled out and glared. 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder to calm down his former student, “Have faith in your padawan.”

The human shook his head, “She would have checked in. And if not her, then Ava would have responded.” 

“Like you always do?” the ginger shot back, “I’m sure everything’s alright. Ava probably got caught up with Agent Naboo; she did offer to teach them first aid. You know how our friend gets when she’s learning.” 

“Good point,” Anakin conceded. 

A rare smile graced his former Master’s face, “Sometimes I don't think you realize how alike you and your Padawan have become.”

Beside him Mundi coughed politely to get their attention. “We need to continue our interrogation of Poggle,” he reminded gently. 

The smile disappeared. “Yes, agreed. He's being most uncooperative.” Obi-Wan turned to the Freelancer. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to help get our guest to talk, would you?” he asked.

The agent shrugged, “I don’t mind,” he agreed and followed the Jedi to the cells. 

Anakin waited a little before turning to his captain, “Keep your ears open in case Ahsoka calls,” he ordered in a low voice. 

“Got it.”

ooOoo

They’d just reached the corridor that led to the bridge when security shields activated. _This just keeps getting better and better,_ Ahsoka thought. “Someone doesn't want us going up there.”

“Keep watch while I override the controls,” Ava ordered and knelt down to do just that.

The click of Trap disengaging his safety was the only warning before he began to fire. Barriss deflected the shot and cut his blaster in half. It didn’t deter the clone as he snarled and lunged at her. To her horror and disgust he opened his mouth and a worm-like creature emerged. She screamed and ignited her blade into his chest. 

Like the strings of a puppet being cut, the captain fell to the ground. The worm, however abandoned its host and wrapped around her neck. “Get this thing off me!” Barriss shrieked. Ava obliged and slashed it in half.

Ahsoka made a face at the squirming halves of the creature. “Ugh, what is that?” 

“Looks like some type of parasite,” Ava said as she remembered her brief encounter with the creatures in the Geonosian catacombs. Suddenly she wished Anakin hadn’t squished Obi-Wan’s worm. “They’re connected to a Geonosian hive mind. It must be controlling their actions.”

Ahsoka groaned, “Great. Mind control.” Just what they needed. Could this war get any weirder? What was next? Time travel? 

“How did these things get on board in the first place?” Barriss asked. 

“They must have infected the clones while they were on Geonosis,” Ava stated. “We'll have to quarantine the ship.”

“We should also contact Master Fisto and let him know about the situation,” Barriss added.

Ava nodded. “Let's go.” 

They were making their way down to the communications center when an ominous clicking noise emitted from a storage room. “That sound, it's-” Barriss started. 

“Geonosian,” Ahsoka finished grimly.

A dozen clones were in the room, talking in the strange clicking Geonosian tongue. Two pinned a struggling clone to a crate as the others stood around and watched. Ava’s eyes widened as she realized that it was her captain that they were holding. She took a step forward to help.

A hand grabbed her arm before she could rush off. “It's too late.” Barriss shook her head as Cas’s cries died down. All three watched in horror as the captain twitched a little before subsiding?. The two clones, Cipher and Bluestreak, Ava noted numbly, released him. 

Footsteps ran up behind them and Ava turned in time to see the controlled clone shoot at them. She deflected his shots and Force-pushed him into the wall. “This way!” she called to the Padawans. Ava waited until they exited the room before sliding the door shot and sticking her lightsaber through the controls. “That won’t hold them for long. Quick, into the vents.” 

“I'll go to the reactor room and disable the thrusters,” Ava told them as they crawled through the ceiling shaft. Getting in there was a bit of a touch and go as her men shot at them. Thankfully their normal near perfect aim was off by a lot. Ava didn’t know whether it was due to the creatures or if her men were fighting against the mind control. She desperately hoped that it was the latter. 

She shook her head. “You two head for the aft comm-center and send a warning to Master Fisto,” she ordered the girls, “We have to stop the ship from reaching the medical station.” 

“I don't know, Master,” Ahsoka said in a cautious tone. A tone she reserved usually for her master when she disagreed with his plan and wasn’t sure how he would take her criticism. Her Master always took it badly. “I think we should stay together.”

“This isn’t up for debate,” Ava coldly said. “You will do as you’re told.”

Ahsoka wilted a little. “Yes, of course, Master,” she agreed, “But I-” 

“But nothing, Padawan Tano,” Ava interrupted. “Just remember what your master taught you and you’ll be fine.” She left before Ahsoka could try to argue again. There was no time to waste. 

“It’s too dangerous to be alone,” Ahsoka said to her retreating back and steeled herself. She looked at Barriss. “Let’s go.” 

ooOoo

Ava dropped silently to the floor and crept down the suspiciously empty hallway, lightsaber in hand. She came to the engine room’s entrance and heard a low humming. She pressed herself against the wall and saw several power nodes. Some sort of trap. Ava slashed them apart and kept going. She continued down and stepped into the room.

Electricity coursed through her, setting her nerves on fire and making her muscles spasm. Ava collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Cas picked up her lightsaber. “If there’s one thing we clones know,” Cas sneered, “It’s how to stop a Jedi.”

Prowl stepped forward, holding an egg. Ava reached out and crushed it with the Force. She’d die before being turned against her fellow Jedi. 

The clones let out unnatural shrieks of rage. Ava flung Cas and Prowl back with the Force and ran into the hall- straight into Torch, Bluestreak and Lucky. She whirled around to see the rest of Blackstar Squad. Patch tackled her. 

The ensuing fight was ugly. Ava broke Patch’s arm and kicked Jinx in the jaw so hard his head snapped around. Her forehead hit Nate’s nose with a crunch. But there were twelve of them and one of her, and she was still weakened from the electric trap. Prowl pinned down one arm, Spice and Grease the other. Cas approached with yet another egg. Ava kicked him back. Then they pinned her legs. Ava bucked and squirmed but couldn’t break their hold. And so she could do nothing but watch in terror as the long green worm slithered up her chin, then feel the slimy creature sliding up her nose, and she didn’t care if it wasn’t the Jedi way, she _hated_ Geonosis, and then-

_Protect the eggs. Find more hosts. Death to the invaders._

ooOoo

Ahsoka and Barriss stared at the screen. “As long as these things are on board, we dare not dock with the medical station,” the Mirialan concluded grimly to Kit Fisto. 

“You must bring the ship in.” The Nautolan shook his head, his signature smile long gone. “The only way we can stop these parasites is to analyze them.” 

“You don't understand how terrible these things are,” Ahsoka protested, “What if they get loose?” she asked, but her real question was heard clearly by everyone. _What if there was no way to save them?_

“We will take precautions,” Kit assured the young Jedi. _We will._

“I have a bad feeling about this, Master Fisto.” Ahsoka closed her eyes, but the Master’s confidence greatly comforted her. “But I will do as I am told.” 

Kit warmly smiled at her. “May the Force be with you, little ‘Soka, young Barriss. Stay safe.” 

“We will.” Barriss smiled as the transmission ended. 

ooOoo

Agent Coruscant and Obi-Wan were in Poggle’s cell when the agent’s comm beeped. “This is Naboo, Code Epsilon! I repeat, Code Epsilon!” Besides Naboo’s frantic voice, both beings could hear shots in the background. 

The Freelancer turned away from the Geonosian general and hit his comm to respond. “This is Coruscant,” he answered, “What’s the situation?” 

“The situation is- _frip! Sorry!-_ bad. Clones have, _-damnit! JUST. GO. AWAY!-_ been affected by some sort of worm-” there were more blaster sounds in the background and the medic cursed so violently it startled Poggle. “Whoops, my bad,” Naboo offhandedly muttered as a loud thud could be heard, “Anyway, some sort of worm parasite has infected the clones and now they’re - _Will you just leave me alone already? I swear it won’t be my fault if you get hurt!_ \- attacking!” 

Obi-Wan’s eyebrows rose at that. “Ask her if the men get up even when they’re unconscious. They sound like the worms we encountered earlier,” he ordered Coruscant. 

Coruscant nodded, “It does,” he agreed and hit the comm again, “Naboo, are these worms green by any chance?” 

There was a moment’s pause before, “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!! HOW COULD YOU NOT MENTION THIS TO ME?” 

Coruscant looked at Obi-Wan. “The worms are the ones from before,” he confirmed dryly.

“I MEAN REALLY!? How hard would it be to mention that you encountered MIND CONTROLLING worms!?” Naboo demanded.

“It slipped my mind,” the other Freelancer offered up with a shrug. “Just hang in there alright?” 

“ _CORUSCANT-!!”_ Whatever Naboo was going to say would forever be a mystery as the black and yellow agent turned off his comm. 

“This isn’t good,” Obi-Wan muttered to himself, and turned to look at a smug Poggle. “How did those things get out of the catacombs?” he demanded. The bug however turned his head away. 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath to collect himself. They needed to find out how to safely get rid of those things. But first... “Find out if the others are alright, Agent,” he ordered in a pleasant tone, “And please, leave me to have a _chat_ with our guest.” 

A raspy hiss emitted from the agent’s modulator, “Play nice,” he said in a mock stern tone as he left the cell. 

“What’s going on?” Anakin demanded as Coruscant walked out. Instead of a normal rayshield, the Masters decided to not take any chances and placed the general in a cell with a durasteel door. 

Coruscant ignored the Knight and activated his comm, “This is Agent Coruscant, Code Delta. Naboo, you still alive?” 

“Coruscant you Sith fripper!” was the response and Coruscant decided that yes, Naboo was still very much alive and angry. Behind the agent Luminara and Mundi raised their eyebrows. 

“Are the Jedi still alive?” Coruscant ignored the rage and asked. 

“I have no idea, but I’ll - _Really now!? Now you’re being petty!_ \- take a look once I’m done with these - _mother of Dathomir-_ guys.” Naboo offered. “But you better not turn off your comm this time, or else!” 

“Roger, roger,” Coruscant responded with. He looked up at the three Jedi, “There’s been a bit of a situation...”

ooOoo

“Master Charr, you're back,” Ahsoka greeted the Chiss. “Were you successful?” Ava had the same glare as Ox and Edge back in the mess hall. “Master, what’s wrong?” Ahsoka asked warily.

Ava extended a hand, and the transparisteel barrier shattered.

“Master Charr!” Ahsoka yelped in pain as the transparisteel cut her bare skin and jumped away from her. Barriss however pointed her blade at the Knight, ready to fight. 

Ava swept her hand to the side. Barriss slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground. The Knight turned to Ahsoka and took a step forward. Ahsoka reached for her saber and held her breath...

Only for the woman to crumple to the ground, unconscious. With large eyes Ahsoka looked up and spotted Agent Naboo from the doorway. “So, what I miss?” 

ooOoo

“You will answer my questions,” Obi-Wan lightly began. 

Poggle chuckled at him and clicked. The droid next to him translated, “Your feeble Jedi mind tricks do not work on Geonosians,” it informed the ginger, “The other Jedi already learned this.”

Obi-Wan tilted his head, “Mind tricks?” he repeated, “I don’t need the Force to learn what I need to know, my friend. We are civilized beings after all.” He paused for a brief second to get the full effect he wanted, “Or most of us are.” 

“I will never talk, Jedi,” the droid translated as it politely ignored the curses sent to the Jedi. 

“Confident are we?”

ooOoo

Obi-Wan quietly left the cell and greeted the others with a warm smile. “I see you’ve been informed of the situation; Poggle has kindly informed me that the parasites needed a new host after we destroyed their original ones.” 

“Kindly?” Coruscant scoffed quietly to himself, as he leaned against a wall. He ignored the sullen and angry glare sent by Anakin. 

“Can they be stopped?” Mundi questioned.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Apparently they do not like the cold. I believe if Agent Naboo turns down the temperature of the ship, then everyone will return to normal...” he trailed off. 

“I sense a however, Master Kenobi,” Luminara prompted her old friend to continue. She, like Anakin, was worried for her student. 

“Yes, you’re right,” Obi-Wan agreed, “However, the temperature needed to kill the parasites off is below freezing. No one on that ship aside from Ava will be able to stand that cold for long, and I’m afraid that Poggle doesn’t know how long the cold will take to kill the worms.” 

“It’s too dangerous,” Anakin rejected, “Let me talk to Poggle alone for a few minutes; I bet I can get him to tell us another way.” All three Masters shifted a little at the darkness in his tone and the violence he emitted through the Force. 

“There isn’t another way, Anakin,” Obi-Wan bravely countered, “We don’t have time to argue either. Agent Coruscant, contact Agent Naboo and inform them.” He looked down a little, “This is a risk we’ll have to take.” Anakin made a disgusted noise in his throat and stormed off. 

ooOoo

“And you’ll have to make sure that you don’t tie the bandage too tightly or else-” 

Naboo was busy patching (and explaining) Barriss and Ahsoka up in an abandoned room when her comm beeped. “Naboo, respond; this is Coruscant.” 

“Naboo here,” she responded, “What is it?”

“Code?” 

“Epsilon,” Naboo answered, “I’m still worm free. And guess what? I found Bonnie and her friend, too. We seem to be the only ones not infected.” 

“Their Masters will be glad to hear that, at least. Kenobi has also found a way to kill the parasites too.” 

“How?”

“Rupture the ship’s cooling system. The sub zero temperature will naturally kill the worms,” Coruscant ordered. 

“And us as well!” Naboo protested, “Nobody but a Pantoran and a Chiss can survive that! We need another way.” Naboo didn’t mention that he too would survive due to his armor, but that was a given.

"There isn’t.” 

“...I see... alright. We’ll do it.” 

There was a long pause before Coruscant responded, “Good luck,” and there was a click. 

Naboo stared at the comm for a minute before looking at the girls, “Right,” he said awkwardly, “Well, let’s go team?” 

“Good enough for me,” Ahsoka muttered and stood up.

ooOoo

Slowly and carefully the “Team” crept through the deserted halls towards the engine room. If it wasn’t for the agent’s quick reflexes and medical equipment the group would have been captured twice by some lurking clones. “Just a little father,” Naboo promised and sure enough the room was just around the corner. 

The Freelancer held out her arm to stop the girls from continuing, “Hold on, I’m detecting some signatures. You two stay here and wait for my signal.” Ahsoka and Barriss nodded, Naboo was the only one out of the three to have a weapon that could stun. 

Stealthily, Naboo jumped up into a vent and crawled through. “This was _not_ how I planned my day to go,” he muttered to himself as he looked down to spy a clone standing in front of the door with a blaster. So they weren’t taking any chances, were they? Naboo reached into his utility belt and pulled out a smoke charge with one hand while the other quietly lifted up the hatch. He pressed the button to detonate the charge and dropped it. 

The poor unsuspecting clone startled as smoke engulfed him; Naboo jumped down and promptly decked him. Not missing a beat the agent hit the door open, and his suspicions of even more mindless clones were proven correct as bolts were fired at him. Immediately he hit the ground and pulled out his pistol. “Coru is soo dead if I make it through!” he snarled to himself as he shot one clone in the leg. He rolled to the left and pushed himself up to a nearby clone. With the side of his pistol he hit another clone’s helmet hard enough to shatter the glass. 

“Whoops! Sorry!” he apologized, “I’ll patch you up after all of this!” The final clone charged at him and Naboo impulsively tackled him. They struggled for a few moments before Naboo finally got the upper hand and head butted him. The clone staggered back and Naboo threw his hand out to Force push him into the other wall. 

“Definitely going to murder him,” he spoke to himself, “I’ll disguise it as a check up gone wrong. I’m sorry, Illum, I thought I had a needle in my hand, not my gun. Honest.” 

He looked around for any more clones hiding in wait but found none. “It’s alright,” he yelled to the Padawans, “We’re good!” Ahsoka and Barriss walked in with their lightsabers in their hands. Naboo raised his hands. “Yeesh, I said we’re good.” 

“Sorry.” Ahsoka smiled at her somewhat friend and lowered it. “It’s just that with everything going on...” 

“No problem,” Naboo waved his hand and turned around to find the temperature controls. He stepped over the clone he pistol whipped and walked over to it. “That should about do it,” Naboo said absently as he fiddled with the controls, and to make sure no one could fix it he shot it. He turned around again to the Jedi, “Let’s head up to the bridge and slow our speed down. We should be close to the outpost.”

ooOoo

The trio ran through the freezing hallways towards the bridge. “There! The bridge, at last,” Ahsoka chattered out as they went in. She rubbed her arms in a useless attempt to stay warm. She knew that her clothes weren’t at all suited for a Jedi but she had stuck to her guns and kept them; but now she wished that she was wearing more suitable clothes. Perhaps if they all survived this she would look into warmer clothes. 

Naboo sat down in a pilot’s chair and looked at the controls. “We're coming in awfully fast,” he stated, “Greenie, help me out! You need to help shut down the engines before we- kark!” he yelped as he ducked a purple saber. 

The mind-controlled Ava Charr pointed her blade at him. The Padawans, he noted, were on the cold floor not moving. To his relief they were merely unconscious and not dead. “You...” the Chiss, and Naboo cursed at himself for forgetting that little fact, hissed.

  


ooOoo

  
Ahsoka jerked herself up with a gasp. The last thing she remembered was Master Charr attacking them. A gloved hand gently pushed her back down, “It's all right, Ahsoka. It's okay,” It was her Master’s voice, “You're safe,” he comforted. 

“Barriss?” 

“Barriss is fine, thanks to your efforts,” Anakin assured her and squeezed her shoulder, “And so is Ava.”

Relief filled her at that. But one thing bugged her. “What were those things?” she asked as she remembered how Master Charr and the others acted. 

Two people walked in as she asked that, “I think I can help answer that,” a warm accented voice offered and they turned to see Kit Fisto and Agent Naboo. “We had the remaining parasite worms analyzed. They are the same type of creature you found on Geonosis, Master Skywalker,” the Jedi Master informed.

Naboo took over from there, “Each worm was connect to a large hivemind, most likely the queen you mentioned in the reports. However with how far apart and how the queen was killed these parasites reverted back to a baser instinct. Survive and reproduce. That’s why those infected were more aggressive.”

Kit Fisto nodded. “We'll have to inform the troops on Geonosis,” he said as the information sunk in, “I believe this parasite is how the the Geonosians reclaimed their planets the first time.” He smiled. “Thanks to Project Freelance and Agent Naboo we’ve found a cure for any soldiers still fighting there.” 

Anakin made a face at the mention of Project Freelance but nodded. “Good. See to it that our men are warned about them.” 

Kit nodded and Naboo spoke up again, “Good, now everyone but Bonnie out.” 

“What?” Anakin nearly growled at the agent. He wasn’t going to leave _his_ student’s side! He almost lost her!  
“You heard me, out.” Naboo repeated, “I want to check over lil Bonnie one more time before I check out sunshine over in the next room.” He waved his hand to the door. “So scoot.” 

When it looked like her master was going to argue, Ahsoka smiled, “It’ll be fine, Master.” 

“Fine,” the human gritted out, “But if I hear from Snips that you did _anything_ funny, you’ll regret it.” He glared at the Freelancer to emphasize his threat.

“Uh, huh. Sure, riiiiight,” Naboo agreed, clearly not scared, “Now go on,” he nodded to the door, “Git.” Once Kit and Anakin walked out (or stomped out like a spoilt child) Naboo turned to the Padawan. “How are you feeling? Any pain?” 

Ahsoka shook her head. “No, I just feel tired.” 

“That’s probably the near hypothermia speaking,” Naboo thoughtfully said, “Just get some rest and keep warm. Don’t do anything too strenuous for a good couple of days and ease back into it.” Naboo tilted his head. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, Bonnie.” 

He started walking away and almost made it to the door when Ahsoka spoke up, “Wait!” 

“Yes...?”

“How did you... I mean...” Ahsoka trailed off not sure how to word her question.

“How did I fight off Miss Sunshine?” Naboo answered for her and she nodded. “Well... I just got lucky I suppose. Those worms made her an awful fighter, so I had the upper hand.” He shifted his body a little. “Was that all?”

“Yes.” Ahsoka finally said, “Thank you Agent Naboo, for everything.”

“No problem.”

ooOoo

“You don’t want to do this, Charr,” Naboo warned as he slowly reached for his gun. He feared that he would be forced to kill the Knight; she was much stronger than the clones so he knew he couldn’t take any chances. “This isn’t you.” 

“You’ve already lost, bounty hunter,” she rasped in an unnatural voice and Force-pulled his blaster away.

Well there goes that option, he thought sourly. He tensed. What was more important? Keeping his cover and letting the girls get hurt or risking it and saving them? The answer was obvious. “Maybe so,” he agreed, “But you got one thing wrong. I’m a Freelancer!” He shoved his hand out at her and used the Force to grab Greenie’s saber from her belt. “And a damn good one at that!” With obvious skill he lunged at the Chiss.

Blades crossed as both tried to gain the upper hand. Charr was a good fighter, Naboo had to admit. Her skill with Form four made fighting difficult, but that was alright; Ataru had a few notable weaknesses. One being stamina, and that Naboo had plenty to spare. Ataru users were also weak to more than one direction attack. Something that Naboo was willing to exploit. 

With one hand he Force pulled the pilot’s chair towards her and slashed near her feet. Easily she dodged, but he didn’t give her a chance to regain her footing. He feinted an attack from the left as he threw the other chair at her simultaneously. Charr was too busy trying to keep up as he struck with a jab, impaling the saber into her shoulder. A scream of pain left the Knight’s mouth and Naboo decked her. Naboo grabbed his pistol and stunned the Jedi with a well placed shot to her head. 

Charr fell to the floor, writhing. She opened her mouth and the parasite emerged, obviously trying to transfer to a new host. “Oh, I don’t think so.” Naboo scoffed and with Barriss’ saber he cut it in half. Just in time too, the ship shuddered. 

  


ooOoo

“I leave for two minutes to check up on the children and I come back to this!?” Naboo’s childish voice demanded in outrage, hands on his hips. “Get back on the bed! You haven’t been cleared yet!” 

Slowly, deliberately, without breaking eye contact, Ava pulled out her last IV and flicked it away. Naboo ground his teeth together, vision briefly turning red. “Look, I’m sorry for whatever I did to you while I was controlled, but I’m fine. I need to get to Dantooine.” Her former teacher and the 187th were still in danger. She'd been delayed too long already. 

“If you leave the bed before I’ve cleared you, you’ll be going in a body bag! So help me...” Naboo trailed off and waited for the Chiss to lie back down on the bed. She didn’t. “Listen Sunshine,” the agent huffed out, “We can do this one of three ways: you listen, you listen and be a little embarrassed or you obey and regret not listening to me the first time. It’s your choice.” 

Ava’s eyes narrowed. The two stared each other down for a moment. Literally, in Ava's case; the Freelancer’s head barely came up to her chest. “Fine,” she bit out and sat back down. “Make it quick.”

_You’re lucky it’s_ me _you’re with,_ Naboo thought as he pushed away his annoyance, _If it were Tatooine or even Mustafar you’d regret those words._ “Okay, okay. Now not to sound rude but strip.” 

“Completely?” she asked with a raised brow, wondering if that was what Naboo had meant by being a little embarrassed. It would take more than that to make her uncomfortable.

“Just the top,” he assured her, “I want to see your shoulder.” Ava shrugged her shirt off and he studied her. “Good, good. It’s healing rather quickly,” he muttered and rewrapped it up. “A clean cut; you’re lucky that it didn’t ruin your arm permanently.” 

He let her put her shirt on again before moving to the next thing, “How much do you remember?” he asked her. “I want my report to be exact as possible, so hold nothing back please.” He closed his eyes. So far the clones he interviewed had remembered blurred bits and pieces, nothing too incriminating against him. It was Charr that worried him the most. If she remembered him using the Force...

Ava paused and thought about it for a moment. Should she tell him the truth? Or should she keep quiet and see if the agent would mess up? Then again, he’d spared her life when he would have been completely justified in killing her. She opened her mouth, “Not much,” she lied and scrunched up her face in pretend thought, “Just blurred bits and pieces. Is that normal?”

Naboo studied the girl in front of him. He had the feeling that the Knight was holding something back. Did she remember him stabbing her? Charr shifted as she waited for his answer; as tempting as it was to tap into the Force to see just what the Chiss was hiding, Sidia would prefer not to be caught. He made a mental note to mention the girl’s suspicion to Coru. Perhaps his friend could help keep an eye on her. 

Belatedly he realized that Charr was still waiting for an answer. “You have nothing to worry about; no memories of your time as a brainless puppet is normal; a way that your mind tried to protect you against the parasite. In fact,” Naboo continued and looked for any give away from the Knight that she did indeed remember anything, “I would be worried if you did remember clearly.” 

Ava nodded. “Nor do I particularly care to.” Her expression turned solemn. “How many casualties were there?”

A mischievous idea popped into his mind. He had heard from his contact that Charr was incredibly attached to her men. “Look, I want you to know that there was no other way,” he slowly said and made sure to project sadness, “But one of your men, Captain Cas...” he trailed off and watched her tense, inwardly cackling. Attached indeed. “Well...”

Her jaw clenched and she braced for the worst. “ _What?_ ”

“Has your patience as well,” he simply said, “I caught him trying to sneak out of the medbay _three_ times! Three!” Sidia shook his head in dismay. “But don’t worry! I made sure he’ll stay put!” Sidia was glad that his modulator hid his amusement. 

Ava resisted the urge to punch her. “We're done here,” she growled and started to stand. 

Naboo pushed her back down and resisted the urge to laugh; no wonder Doc Knoc was such a jerk to everyone. The reactions were priceless. His amusement died down. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he apologized, which did nothing to lighten her glare. “But to answer your question there were a few deaths. If you want I can find out their names.” Sidia reached down to his belt and grabbed his datapad; he quickly skimmed through it for names. “Three: pilots See-Through and Drag-line and a trooper named Trap.” 

“Am I cleared now?” Ava asked impatiently, now wanting the Freelancer gone- far, far away from her.

Naboo looked up from his datapad. His notes were now on the woman in front of him. _Laceration on the left shoulder, slight dehydration, signs of exhaustion and weight loss..._ Sidia wasn’t a mind healer, but he also suspected that the Knight had PTSD and trust issues. “Just one more thing,” he promised, noting her discomfort, “When was the last time you meditated?” 

That threw Ava for a loop. “What does that have to do with anything?” 

_Well that answered that question_ , Sidia thought to himself dryly. “A lot,” he offered up, “Meditation isn’t solely a Jedi thing, you know; there are a great number of noted benefits. Most notably it’s a way to alleviate stress.” 

“I’m not stressed,” Ava denied. She just needed to get out of here and find out what was happening on Dantooine!

“And I’m secretly General Yoda,” Naboo shot back, “Becoming of a Jedi, lies are not,” he said mockingly. “Look,” he sighed out, “I’m not a Master or anything so I can’t really order you to follow my orders, but you do need to meditate or find another way to destress.” Naboo shook his head. “You’re running yourself into an early grave.” 

An indifferent shrug. “We’re at war. A lot of Jedi have died too early.” But the agent was right about one thing- he couldn't order her to do anything.

Aaaannnd he added low-key suicidal to the list of the many problems of Ava Charr. Sidia bit his lip in hesitance before he made up his mind. “Here,” he said and gave her his comm frequency, “It’s my frequency. If you ever need someone to talk to, I promise to hear yourself out.” 

Ava blinked in surprise, then scowled. “Is this another joke?”

“No joke. Just don’t mention it to anyone. Ever.” He put his datapad away. “Well, my job here is done.” He mock saluted. “You are overall fine, but just don’t overwork yourself. Now if you excuse me, I have a certain clone captain to terrorize. Buh-bye!” 

Ava watched as the medic freelancer sauntered out of her room, then looked down at the piece of flimsiplast she’d written her comm frequency on. After a moment’s consideration, she pocketed it. Now to check on her men and find out what the situation was on Dantooine.

But first... She activated her holocom. “Master Kenobi...”


End file.
